“Coach Jill Kramer and her staff have put together a challenging schedule for 2014,” says Luck. “We are excited to watch this program continue to make strides, while competing against many of the top teams in the country.”

The Mountaineers will play 12 matches against teams who participated in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, including five matches against teams who reached the round of 16.

“I am excited to play such a challenging schedule in the preseason, and I know our squad is too,” says coach Jill Kramer. “It is, without a doubt, the toughest nonconference schedule we will play since my arrival at WVU.”

After its annual Gold-Blue Scrimmage at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday, Aug. 23, West Virginia will open its 2014 campaign at home against BYU on Friday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.

The Cougars advanced to their second-consecutive regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament a season ago.

“Our goal is to put ourselves in position to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and once we get there, compete for a championship,” Kramer says. “We want to be tested early to prep us for conference play and be primed for a challenging Big 12 Conference. We know that being ready in nonconference is all about how hard we work in the summer, and I’m confident this group will put in the work.”

West Virginia will play 15 total matches at the Coliseum, including two home tournaments – the Gold & Blue Player’s Challenge, Aug. 29-30, and the Mountaineer Invitational, Sept. 12-13.

WVU will also travel to two separate away tournaments, highlighted by the ACC-Big 12 Challenge, Sept 19-20. The Mountaineers will face both North Carolina and Duke in Chapel Hill and Durham, N.C., respectively.

“One of the most exciting weekends of our preseason schedule is being invited to play in the ACC-Big 12 Challenge hosted by UNC and Duke this year,” Kramer says. “I think it says a lot about the growth of our volleyball program to be invited to such an event and represent the Big 12 Conference.”

Big 12 play will kick off at the Coliseum on Wednesday, Sept. 24, against the Texas Longhorns. UT has gone to the final four each of the past two seasons, including a national championship title in 2012.

The Mountaineers have averaged 2,462 fans against the Longhorns at the WVU Coliseum over the past two seasons.

West Virginia will welcome all eight Big 12 opponents to the Coliseum in the fall, highlighted by matchups against NCAA tournament teams from a year ago in Oklahoma on Oct. 8, Kansas on Oct. 15 and Iowa State on Nov. 8.

West Virginia will also face in-state foe Marshall in its final nonconference game of the season on Oct. 1, in Huntington, W.Va. It will mark the 47th meeting all time between the two schools in the battle for the Golden Ball.